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rensahannou) wrote2011-09-15 03:46 pm
rensahannou) wrote2011-09-15 03:46 pm
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Big Time Rush: Cute flirty boys who sing and love each other a lot
Big Time Rush is a made-for-TV boy band that is also a real boy band. (Think The Monkees. I've never seen that TV show, but apparently the two have a lot in common.) Consisting of four hot guys in their early 20s playing high schoolers, who touch each other constantly both on-set and off. And make comments like the one in my (admittedly crappy) icon.
And since everyone should know who they are, I'm making this post :D
This is gonna be a big post, but uh...I'll try not to ramble too much. But seriously guys, this is like *pnish* and D-Boys and 3rd-cast all over again, except in English so I don't have to struggle to understand them, and they're all so wonderful and I love them all so much that there will definitely be a bit of rambling.
But I'm gonna include pictures, so if you just wanna scroll and look at the pretty that's okay with me ;)
(Character screencaps are mine, all other pics are from http://bigtimerushtv.com/)
L-to-R in the back: Kendall, James, Logan. Carlos in front. Did I mention they like to touch each other a lot?
The premise
Four best friends and hockey teammates from Minnesota get the chance to be a pop group. The pilot episode, which is probably still my favorite, shows how this all happens: One of the guys (James) has always wanted to sing and be famous, so when a record producer is holding auditions in their town all four of them do whatever it takes to get him there on time. The producer, though, ends up liking a different guy (Kendall), and offers to take him back to Hollywood. He refuses at first, but eventually agrees on one condition--all of them get to go.
Because he loves his boys.
How it all started
Big Time Rush is a Nickelodeon show that had a special premiere episode at the end of 2009 and then started its first regular season in January 2010. This was after a 2-year-long, country-wide audition process to find the perfect four guys for the roles. (They totally did.) The show has been consistently one of the most popular things on TV in its demographic, which it definitely deserves.
For me personally, this whole thing started a month or so ago when I had the TV on either before or after iCarly (which is also a great show) and realized that the silly boy band show I used to roll my eyes at commercials for actually had cute guys in it, and it was entertaining despite the cartoony sound effects. And also there seemed to be some slash potential.
So the next time I caught an episode I tried to pay a little more attention, and realized the guys were sort of really cute, at least one of them was probably secretly in love with one of the others, and those sound effects weren't so bad.
A trip to the show's TV Tropes page got me more familiar with the characters and so the next time I watched an episode I really watched it, cracking up through the whole thing, and before long I decided I had to find fic.
And that, of course, is where the trouble really began :P
Why it's amazing
1. The Boys
I'll get into the guys individually later on, but they are what makes this show. They have amazing, perfect chemistry with each other, and their characters are so well-defined and consistent, relying on tropes and cliches but adding in enough depth that they all feel real, even in the ridiculousness that is the show.
Also they're all really hot. And did I mention they touch each other a lot?
2. The Supporting Characters
One of the really cool things about this show is that the slash fandom at large sort of adores the female supporting characters. Because they're just that awesome. The other guys on the show are pretty great as well. Most of the supporting characters are all completely over-the-top, but in a really funny way. I feel like if I went into detail about them all I'd basically be repeating a primer someone else has already done way better than I could: http://queenitsy.livejournal.com/751211.html (The first part of that primer covers the 4 main guys and does an awesome job, but I want to talk about them so I'm going to anyway ♥)
My favorite supporting character is Katie, partly because she has my name but mostly because she totally deserves it ;) She's the little sister of one of the guys (Kendall), and is basically smarter and more capable than everyone else on the show. She loves her big brother and his friends, and helps them out with their crazy plans and when they've gotten themselves in over their heads. It's pretty awesome.
3. The Show
One of the most common descriptions of this show, from fans and the guys themselves, it that it's like a live-action cartoon. Which is pretty accurate. The sound effects that bothered me the first time I watched it quickly become part of the show itself, and I think at this point I'm usually too busy laughing to even notice them.
Because this show is hilarious. And completely ridiculous, but in the best way possible. The basic plot of most episodes consist of the guys wanting to do something or wanting to get out of doing something and coming up with the craziest plans imaginable to accomplish whatever goal they've set. And they inevitably cause more trouble, and sometimes property damage, but somehow, somehow, it's never annoying. You never roll your eyes and say "Yeah right," you just accept whatever insanity the show gives you because somehow it all makes sense for these boys and this show.
If I tried to give examples you'd probably think it sounds way too silly, and it is. But once you know the guys you realize that's sort of why it works so well.
4. The Music
When this show was being developed, they were intending for the band to not just exist in fiction. They were looking for guys who could be a real band, make real albums, play real concerts. So BTR exists on two levels, as a show about a boy band and as a real-life boy band who are currently in the middle of a nationwide tour.
And okay, their music isn't exactly groundbreaking. It's your basic dance-y pop stuff. And while I personally don't think any of the guys are bad singers (but my tolerance for bad singing by awesome guys is really really high), and at least one of them is actually a really really good singer, none of their voices are exactly suited for dance-y pop stuff.
But they make do with what they have, and the songs are fun to listen to and super-catchy. The guys are really energetic, and while they aren't the best dancers either, their music videos are still fun (with, um, one exception).
So that's the overview. Now onto the good stuff:
THE BOYS
As mentioned, these guys are in a band and also play characters in that band on TV. The characters have the same first names as their actors, different last names, and while it sounds confusing it isn't.
Well, okay, it is at first. Because the guys are not playing themselves on TV, at all. And despite some interviews saying their characters do have things in common with the actors, they're really not playing fictional versions of themselves, either.
And since the characters on the show are so well-defined, their personalities are much easier to get a good handle on than the actual guys themselves, but trust me--the actors are just as awesome as their characters. Just in completely different ways. Which I will now show you :D
Character:
Kendall Knight
Kendall has really pretty green eyes.
Kendall is the leader of Big Time Rush. This isn't just a title they throw at him with no meaning behind it, either. Before they were a band Kendall was still the leader, just maybe not as officially.
Kendall is actually so much the leader that it's kind of hard to describe his personality not in relation to the other boys. They define him, in a way. He gets them all into trouble and gets them all out of trouble. He helps them and protects them and looks out for them and would be completely lost without them. He keeps his head when the rest of them are giving into the crazy, he keeps them focused as a band, he could probably tell them all to jump off of a roof and they would do it because they know Kendall would never let anything truly bad happen to them. (And since I haven't seen all the episodes yet, it's quite possible they have jumped off of a roof at some point.)
Kendall is smart and responsible except when he isn't either of those things. He's strong-willed and a little rebellious and doesn't let himself--or his friends--be pushed around. Kendall is the one who actually got picked in the first episode to be a star, but had no interest in it because a) his dream is to play pro hockey, b) he didn't want to leave his boys, and c) one of the others really wanted to get picked instead. The second two problems were the biggest, so he fixed them and brought his boys along to California.
Kendall is a winner, a fixer, loves his mom and his little sister, and loves his boys. And they all love him back, because he's Kendall and they would be lost without him.
He also has crazy eyebrows and makes really hilarious faces.
Actor:
Kendall Schmidt (20, birthday in November)
I really like this picture ♥
Oh, Kendall. Okay. So the real-life BTR doesn't have a leader of any sort, and if it did it certainly wouldn't be Kendall. He's actually the youngest of the actors, and was also the last one to be cast for the show, although you totally can't tell with how well they all get along.
The most defining trait that real-Kendall shares with show-Kendall is their competitive streak. Kendall Schmidt likes to win, and has no problems bragging about it when he does. He also likes to tease the other guys (they all do this, but Kendall is one of the worst) and be generally silly. And he's the messiest, claiming more than once that "Life is too short to be organized."
Kendall has been acting forever, in commercials and small roles in TV. But he's also probably the most into making music of all of them; he has a two-person band called Heffron Drive that he's been in since before the show started I'm pretty sure. The other member of Heffron Drive, Kendall's friend Dustin Belt (or DBelt as he's often called) plays guitar for BTR at their concerts and when they do acoustic stuff for interviews. I don't know much about him yet but the fandom says he's awesome and I believe them.
Kendall likes to eat healthy, which for some reason I find really endearing. He prefers to buy organic food (he shops at Whole Foods, but he said in an interview that you shouldn't buy produce there because it's a little expensive--instead he encourages people to go to farmer's markets and support their local farmers, it's kind of adorable) and doesn't eat fast food.
He plays guitar, and has his own Youtube channel where he used to post his own acoustic covers of songs he likes, including one with another BTR member (Logan). I haven't watched them all, but the ones I've seen are pretty good.
Okay that's enough about Kendall. On to James!
Character:
James Diamond
Screaming like a girl because he just did something stupid.
James is the one who always wanted to be famous. His first line in the pilot starts off "I had my pop star dream again last night," and a minute later (the first 5 minutes of the pilot are basically all you need to watch if you want to know whether you'll like the show) Kendall makes a point of protecting James's face from potential damage. The other guys immediately understand and agree, and James responds with "I love you guys."
This is James in a nutshell. He wants to be a star. He is the self-proclaimed but wholly undisputed pretty one of the group, and no one ever gets to forget it. But he loves his friends, is just as dedicated to them as he is to his goals, and he doesn't think he's any better than them, really, just, y'know...prettier. And they're okay with this.
There's actually a lot to James as a character, and to go really into everything would take way too long. He has a lot of depth to him, but at the same time he's probably the most ridiculous one of the guys. He's very much in love with himself, which is hilarious, but he does things that are completely selfless sometimes. He's the only one of the guys shown to have a girl as a close friend who he's never dated or shown any interest in dating, which I think is pretty awesome.
The things that make James amazing are all the little things he does throughout the show that you either just wouldn't expect from the self-absorbed pretty boy or that are simply hilarious, from being overprotective of Katie when she's on a date to genuinely believing the girl he likes is a mermaid to having an obsession with tanning spray that literally turns him orange.
He's also really nice to look at, and is very proud of his "washboard abs." Sometimes he even shows them off. Which no one is complaining about.
Actor:
James Maslow (21 since July)
His hair is shorter now, but this is his Twitter pic. I love his eyes in it; you can really tell they're hazel.
James ♥ James Maslow is professional, likes to be early to things, doesn't like photo shoots, enjoys working out (his arms are huge), ends his posts on Twitter with "xoxo, JM", loves surfing, likes to tease the other guys but likes to compliment them almost as much, and especially likes to touch them. All the time.
All. The. Time. All of the guys are touchy-feely with each other, so for James to stand out it says something.
James's main focus is on acting, but like the other 3 he's been singing his whole life. I like his voice, it's very distinctive, but I've read in a few places that he tries a little too hard sometimes, which I guess I can see. I still like listening to him. (Okay, I like listening to all of them :P)
I feel like I should have more to say about James, but since I can't think of anything in particular (oh, he does backflips at their shows, and he's Jewish, and...he's awesome, he really is) it's Logan's turn!
Character:
Logan Mitchell
I love the faces he makes. So much.
Logaaaaan~~~ The smart one, the responsible one, the slightly awkward one, the one who should know better but lets himself get dragged into things because he loves his boys. My favorite character ♥
Logan really likes math and science, which is super-adorable. He's known as the "genius" of BTR, and the guys rely on that intelligence a lot to get them out of whatever mess they've gotten in. Or to get started on the path to that mess in the first place. Kendall is the fixer, but Logan's brain is usually an integral part of his plans. (Or sometimes Logan's learner's permit.)
Despite the fact that he is the most responsible of the group, Logan tends to get hurt more than the other guys, and gets picked on by other characters sometimes. Logan also gets dressed up as a girl a little more often than the others. (I say "a little more often" because at least 3 of them have been in drag so far. If it hasn't happened yet, it's probably only a matter of time before they get all 4.)
He's also kind of really hot. And makes hilarious faces.
Actor:
Logan Henderson (22 as of yesterday!)
He's just so cute ♥
Ahaha Logan. All of the real-life guys are obviously far removed from their characters, but Logan's differences are probably the most readily apparent. My initial impression of Logan Henderson was that he's a cocksure, flirty little punk, who thinks he's super-cool while at the same time seems like he feels the need to prove this super-coolness occasionally by saying unnecessary things and being kind of irritating.
I know now that he's actually a really nice guy, who is funny and fun and charming and yeah, apparently really flirty. I'm still pretty convinced Logan gets on the group's nerves more than the other guys, but they all love him anyway. I get it. Logan's pretty awesome, even if it does seem like he tries too hard sometimes, or maybe just doesn't think about what he's saying or doing, and it comes across as annoying. And I get that too, because I'm the same way.
While his focus is also on acting, again he's been singing forever. Apparently he sings all the time; he's said it himself and there are several behind-the-scenes clips where he randomly starts singing about what they're doing, although he's not the only one who does it. He's the other guy in one of Kendall's Youtube videos, where they sang a song together.
He tends to sing the high parts in BTR songs. He also sings some of my favorite parts.
Like James, Logan also likes to do backflips on stage, and looks really really nice without a shirt on. And he beatboxes (apparently they all do, but he's the one who does in their shows).
All things considered, I kind of love Logan a lot. And did I mention that he's really hot?
And now we're down to the last, but most definitely not least, lovely BTR boy: Carlos.
Character:
Carlos Garcia
This screencap was hard to get because he never holds still.
Carlos and James tend to vie with each other for my 2nd-favorite character, but Carlos is usually winning. There's just something about him that's special, and I can't really explain it. (It probably has to do with his actor, but I'll get to that.) He's adorable. He's super-sweet. He's ridiculously endearing. He's also endearingly ridiculous.
Carlos is the fearless crazy puppy dog of the group. He likes to wear a hockey helmet for what at first seems to be no apparent reason, but when you realize he sort of loves doing stupid, dangerous things it makes perfect sense. For the most part, though, there's no point trying to explain the things Carlos says or does, because they really only make sense to him.
But he's freaking adorable. And he loves corn dogs and shoe shopping and his friends and basically just wants everyone to be as happy as he is.
I have a theory that if pressed, the other 3 guys would all say Carlos is their favorite bandmate. Because not only is it probably true, he's the safest answer. Because there is no way to get upset if someone says they like Carlos better than you. Because he's Carlos.
And if Carlos were asked, he'd say all of them. Because it's true.
Actor:
Carlos Pena, Jr. (22 as of last month)
Happy Carlos. Carlos should always be happy. ♥
So. Carlos.
Around the fandom, Carlos Pena gets described as "beautiful," "perfect," and "flawless" at least as often as James, if not more.
And I totally get it.
Carlos is amazing, and I don't know, there's just something about him. I can't actually pick a favorite of the real guys, but sometimes I think Carlos might really be my favorite and I'm just in denial.
He's the oldest of the guys, and personality-wise he's one of the more mature, responsible members of the group, but that doesn't mean he can't be just as silly as the rest of them. He's apparently a neat freak and cleans up not only after himself but after the other guys as well, which is adorable.
Carlos is also the best singer of the group. Before he got cast in BTR he was in the Boston Conservatory, and there's a video or two on Youtube of him singing in recitals. He intended to do musical theater, and he still plans to. So of course he loves musicals, which has led to a running joke among the guys where they (especially Kendall) tease him about loving RENT. He says it's because that's the only musical they know the songs to, which uh...is kinda funny.
He's totally underused in BTR songs, which sucks. But when he gets good solo parts in songs he sounds awesome and then those are usually my favorite parts. Oddly, even though he's the best singer and Logan is...not, their voices sometimes sound really really similar. I blame it on the post-production. But there are parts where, when I first started listening to the music, I couldn't tell who was singing but it sounded really good. Then when I watched the videos I realized that was Carlos, who doesn't always sound the same from song to song like the other guys, but who almost always sounds good.
Also, in a recent interview with the guys I got to watch live, they were asked what their favorite sports are. Carlos said he's been into tennis recently, which won him SO MANY POINTS. Then the other guys kind of teased him about it :P
So to sum up, Carlos = ♥.
Aaaand I think I'm going to stop there for now, because if I start getting into the shipping aspect of the show in this post it'll be way too long. So I'll save that for next time. :D
And since everyone should know who they are, I'm making this post :D
This is gonna be a big post, but uh...I'll try not to ramble too much. But seriously guys, this is like *pnish* and D-Boys and 3rd-cast all over again, except in English so I don't have to struggle to understand them, and they're all so wonderful and I love them all so much that there will definitely be a bit of rambling.
But I'm gonna include pictures, so if you just wanna scroll and look at the pretty that's okay with me ;)
(Character screencaps are mine, all other pics are from http://bigtimerushtv.com/)
The premise
Four best friends and hockey teammates from Minnesota get the chance to be a pop group. The pilot episode, which is probably still my favorite, shows how this all happens: One of the guys (James) has always wanted to sing and be famous, so when a record producer is holding auditions in their town all four of them do whatever it takes to get him there on time. The producer, though, ends up liking a different guy (Kendall), and offers to take him back to Hollywood. He refuses at first, but eventually agrees on one condition--all of them get to go.
Because he loves his boys.
How it all started
Big Time Rush is a Nickelodeon show that had a special premiere episode at the end of 2009 and then started its first regular season in January 2010. This was after a 2-year-long, country-wide audition process to find the perfect four guys for the roles. (They totally did.) The show has been consistently one of the most popular things on TV in its demographic, which it definitely deserves.
For me personally, this whole thing started a month or so ago when I had the TV on either before or after iCarly (which is also a great show) and realized that the silly boy band show I used to roll my eyes at commercials for actually had cute guys in it, and it was entertaining despite the cartoony sound effects. And also there seemed to be some slash potential.
So the next time I caught an episode I tried to pay a little more attention, and realized the guys were sort of really cute, at least one of them was probably secretly in love with one of the others, and those sound effects weren't so bad.
A trip to the show's TV Tropes page got me more familiar with the characters and so the next time I watched an episode I really watched it, cracking up through the whole thing, and before long I decided I had to find fic.
And that, of course, is where the trouble really began :P
Why it's amazing
1. The Boys
I'll get into the guys individually later on, but they are what makes this show. They have amazing, perfect chemistry with each other, and their characters are so well-defined and consistent, relying on tropes and cliches but adding in enough depth that they all feel real, even in the ridiculousness that is the show.
Also they're all really hot. And did I mention they touch each other a lot?
2. The Supporting Characters
One of the really cool things about this show is that the slash fandom at large sort of adores the female supporting characters. Because they're just that awesome. The other guys on the show are pretty great as well. Most of the supporting characters are all completely over-the-top, but in a really funny way. I feel like if I went into detail about them all I'd basically be repeating a primer someone else has already done way better than I could: http://queenitsy.livejournal.com/751211.html (The first part of that primer covers the 4 main guys and does an awesome job, but I want to talk about them so I'm going to anyway ♥)
My favorite supporting character is Katie, partly because she has my name but mostly because she totally deserves it ;) She's the little sister of one of the guys (Kendall), and is basically smarter and more capable than everyone else on the show. She loves her big brother and his friends, and helps them out with their crazy plans and when they've gotten themselves in over their heads. It's pretty awesome.
3. The Show
One of the most common descriptions of this show, from fans and the guys themselves, it that it's like a live-action cartoon. Which is pretty accurate. The sound effects that bothered me the first time I watched it quickly become part of the show itself, and I think at this point I'm usually too busy laughing to even notice them.
Because this show is hilarious. And completely ridiculous, but in the best way possible. The basic plot of most episodes consist of the guys wanting to do something or wanting to get out of doing something and coming up with the craziest plans imaginable to accomplish whatever goal they've set. And they inevitably cause more trouble, and sometimes property damage, but somehow, somehow, it's never annoying. You never roll your eyes and say "Yeah right," you just accept whatever insanity the show gives you because somehow it all makes sense for these boys and this show.
If I tried to give examples you'd probably think it sounds way too silly, and it is. But once you know the guys you realize that's sort of why it works so well.
4. The Music
When this show was being developed, they were intending for the band to not just exist in fiction. They were looking for guys who could be a real band, make real albums, play real concerts. So BTR exists on two levels, as a show about a boy band and as a real-life boy band who are currently in the middle of a nationwide tour.
And okay, their music isn't exactly groundbreaking. It's your basic dance-y pop stuff. And while I personally don't think any of the guys are bad singers (but my tolerance for bad singing by awesome guys is really really high), and at least one of them is actually a really really good singer, none of their voices are exactly suited for dance-y pop stuff.
But they make do with what they have, and the songs are fun to listen to and super-catchy. The guys are really energetic, and while they aren't the best dancers either, their music videos are still fun (with, um, one exception).
So that's the overview. Now onto the good stuff:
THE BOYS
As mentioned, these guys are in a band and also play characters in that band on TV. The characters have the same first names as their actors, different last names, and while it sounds confusing it isn't.
Well, okay, it is at first. Because the guys are not playing themselves on TV, at all. And despite some interviews saying their characters do have things in common with the actors, they're really not playing fictional versions of themselves, either.
And since the characters on the show are so well-defined, their personalities are much easier to get a good handle on than the actual guys themselves, but trust me--the actors are just as awesome as their characters. Just in completely different ways. Which I will now show you :D
Character:
Kendall Knight
Kendall is the leader of Big Time Rush. This isn't just a title they throw at him with no meaning behind it, either. Before they were a band Kendall was still the leader, just maybe not as officially.
Kendall is actually so much the leader that it's kind of hard to describe his personality not in relation to the other boys. They define him, in a way. He gets them all into trouble and gets them all out of trouble. He helps them and protects them and looks out for them and would be completely lost without them. He keeps his head when the rest of them are giving into the crazy, he keeps them focused as a band, he could probably tell them all to jump off of a roof and they would do it because they know Kendall would never let anything truly bad happen to them. (And since I haven't seen all the episodes yet, it's quite possible they have jumped off of a roof at some point.)
Kendall is smart and responsible except when he isn't either of those things. He's strong-willed and a little rebellious and doesn't let himself--or his friends--be pushed around. Kendall is the one who actually got picked in the first episode to be a star, but had no interest in it because a) his dream is to play pro hockey, b) he didn't want to leave his boys, and c) one of the others really wanted to get picked instead. The second two problems were the biggest, so he fixed them and brought his boys along to California.
Kendall is a winner, a fixer, loves his mom and his little sister, and loves his boys. And they all love him back, because he's Kendall and they would be lost without him.
He also has crazy eyebrows and makes really hilarious faces.
Actor:
Kendall Schmidt (20, birthday in November)
Oh, Kendall. Okay. So the real-life BTR doesn't have a leader of any sort, and if it did it certainly wouldn't be Kendall. He's actually the youngest of the actors, and was also the last one to be cast for the show, although you totally can't tell with how well they all get along.
The most defining trait that real-Kendall shares with show-Kendall is their competitive streak. Kendall Schmidt likes to win, and has no problems bragging about it when he does. He also likes to tease the other guys (they all do this, but Kendall is one of the worst) and be generally silly. And he's the messiest, claiming more than once that "Life is too short to be organized."
Kendall has been acting forever, in commercials and small roles in TV. But he's also probably the most into making music of all of them; he has a two-person band called Heffron Drive that he's been in since before the show started I'm pretty sure. The other member of Heffron Drive, Kendall's friend Dustin Belt (or DBelt as he's often called) plays guitar for BTR at their concerts and when they do acoustic stuff for interviews. I don't know much about him yet but the fandom says he's awesome and I believe them.
Kendall likes to eat healthy, which for some reason I find really endearing. He prefers to buy organic food (he shops at Whole Foods, but he said in an interview that you shouldn't buy produce there because it's a little expensive--instead he encourages people to go to farmer's markets and support their local farmers, it's kind of adorable) and doesn't eat fast food.
He plays guitar, and has his own Youtube channel where he used to post his own acoustic covers of songs he likes, including one with another BTR member (Logan). I haven't watched them all, but the ones I've seen are pretty good.
Okay that's enough about Kendall. On to James!
Character:
James Diamond
James is the one who always wanted to be famous. His first line in the pilot starts off "I had my pop star dream again last night," and a minute later (the first 5 minutes of the pilot are basically all you need to watch if you want to know whether you'll like the show) Kendall makes a point of protecting James's face from potential damage. The other guys immediately understand and agree, and James responds with "I love you guys."
This is James in a nutshell. He wants to be a star. He is the self-proclaimed but wholly undisputed pretty one of the group, and no one ever gets to forget it. But he loves his friends, is just as dedicated to them as he is to his goals, and he doesn't think he's any better than them, really, just, y'know...prettier. And they're okay with this.
There's actually a lot to James as a character, and to go really into everything would take way too long. He has a lot of depth to him, but at the same time he's probably the most ridiculous one of the guys. He's very much in love with himself, which is hilarious, but he does things that are completely selfless sometimes. He's the only one of the guys shown to have a girl as a close friend who he's never dated or shown any interest in dating, which I think is pretty awesome.
The things that make James amazing are all the little things he does throughout the show that you either just wouldn't expect from the self-absorbed pretty boy or that are simply hilarious, from being overprotective of Katie when she's on a date to genuinely believing the girl he likes is a mermaid to having an obsession with tanning spray that literally turns him orange.
He's also really nice to look at, and is very proud of his "washboard abs." Sometimes he even shows them off. Which no one is complaining about.
Actor:
James Maslow (21 since July)
James ♥ James Maslow is professional, likes to be early to things, doesn't like photo shoots, enjoys working out (his arms are huge), ends his posts on Twitter with "xoxo, JM", loves surfing, likes to tease the other guys but likes to compliment them almost as much, and especially likes to touch them. All the time.
All. The. Time. All of the guys are touchy-feely with each other, so for James to stand out it says something.
James's main focus is on acting, but like the other 3 he's been singing his whole life. I like his voice, it's very distinctive, but I've read in a few places that he tries a little too hard sometimes, which I guess I can see. I still like listening to him. (Okay, I like listening to all of them :P)
I feel like I should have more to say about James, but since I can't think of anything in particular (oh, he does backflips at their shows, and he's Jewish, and...he's awesome, he really is) it's Logan's turn!
Character:
Logan Mitchell
Logaaaaan~~~ The smart one, the responsible one, the slightly awkward one, the one who should know better but lets himself get dragged into things because he loves his boys. My favorite character ♥
Logan really likes math and science, which is super-adorable. He's known as the "genius" of BTR, and the guys rely on that intelligence a lot to get them out of whatever mess they've gotten in. Or to get started on the path to that mess in the first place. Kendall is the fixer, but Logan's brain is usually an integral part of his plans. (Or sometimes Logan's learner's permit.)
Despite the fact that he is the most responsible of the group, Logan tends to get hurt more than the other guys, and gets picked on by other characters sometimes. Logan also gets dressed up as a girl a little more often than the others. (I say "a little more often" because at least 3 of them have been in drag so far. If it hasn't happened yet, it's probably only a matter of time before they get all 4.)
He's also kind of really hot. And makes hilarious faces.
Actor:
Logan Henderson (22 as of yesterday!)
Ahaha Logan. All of the real-life guys are obviously far removed from their characters, but Logan's differences are probably the most readily apparent. My initial impression of Logan Henderson was that he's a cocksure, flirty little punk, who thinks he's super-cool while at the same time seems like he feels the need to prove this super-coolness occasionally by saying unnecessary things and being kind of irritating.
I know now that he's actually a really nice guy, who is funny and fun and charming and yeah, apparently really flirty. I'm still pretty convinced Logan gets on the group's nerves more than the other guys, but they all love him anyway. I get it. Logan's pretty awesome, even if it does seem like he tries too hard sometimes, or maybe just doesn't think about what he's saying or doing, and it comes across as annoying. And I get that too, because I'm the same way.
While his focus is also on acting, again he's been singing forever. Apparently he sings all the time; he's said it himself and there are several behind-the-scenes clips where he randomly starts singing about what they're doing, although he's not the only one who does it. He's the other guy in one of Kendall's Youtube videos, where they sang a song together.
He tends to sing the high parts in BTR songs. He also sings some of my favorite parts.
Like James, Logan also likes to do backflips on stage, and looks really really nice without a shirt on. And he beatboxes (apparently they all do, but he's the one who does in their shows).
All things considered, I kind of love Logan a lot. And did I mention that he's really hot?
And now we're down to the last, but most definitely not least, lovely BTR boy: Carlos.
Character:
Carlos Garcia
Carlos and James tend to vie with each other for my 2nd-favorite character, but Carlos is usually winning. There's just something about him that's special, and I can't really explain it. (It probably has to do with his actor, but I'll get to that.) He's adorable. He's super-sweet. He's ridiculously endearing. He's also endearingly ridiculous.
Carlos is the fearless crazy puppy dog of the group. He likes to wear a hockey helmet for what at first seems to be no apparent reason, but when you realize he sort of loves doing stupid, dangerous things it makes perfect sense. For the most part, though, there's no point trying to explain the things Carlos says or does, because they really only make sense to him.
But he's freaking adorable. And he loves corn dogs and shoe shopping and his friends and basically just wants everyone to be as happy as he is.
I have a theory that if pressed, the other 3 guys would all say Carlos is their favorite bandmate. Because not only is it probably true, he's the safest answer. Because there is no way to get upset if someone says they like Carlos better than you. Because he's Carlos.
And if Carlos were asked, he'd say all of them. Because it's true.
Actor:
Carlos Pena, Jr. (22 as of last month)
So. Carlos.
Around the fandom, Carlos Pena gets described as "beautiful," "perfect," and "flawless" at least as often as James, if not more.
And I totally get it.
Carlos is amazing, and I don't know, there's just something about him. I can't actually pick a favorite of the real guys, but sometimes I think Carlos might really be my favorite and I'm just in denial.
He's the oldest of the guys, and personality-wise he's one of the more mature, responsible members of the group, but that doesn't mean he can't be just as silly as the rest of them. He's apparently a neat freak and cleans up not only after himself but after the other guys as well, which is adorable.
Carlos is also the best singer of the group. Before he got cast in BTR he was in the Boston Conservatory, and there's a video or two on Youtube of him singing in recitals. He intended to do musical theater, and he still plans to. So of course he loves musicals, which has led to a running joke among the guys where they (especially Kendall) tease him about loving RENT. He says it's because that's the only musical they know the songs to, which uh...is kinda funny.
He's totally underused in BTR songs, which sucks. But when he gets good solo parts in songs he sounds awesome and then those are usually my favorite parts. Oddly, even though he's the best singer and Logan is...not, their voices sometimes sound really really similar. I blame it on the post-production. But there are parts where, when I first started listening to the music, I couldn't tell who was singing but it sounded really good. Then when I watched the videos I realized that was Carlos, who doesn't always sound the same from song to song like the other guys, but who almost always sounds good.
Also, in a recent interview with the guys I got to watch live, they were asked what their favorite sports are. Carlos said he's been into tennis recently, which won him SO MANY POINTS. Then the other guys kind of teased him about it :P
So to sum up, Carlos = ♥.
Aaaand I think I'm going to stop there for now, because if I start getting into the shipping aspect of the show in this post it'll be way too long. So I'll save that for next time. :D